Avance Biosciences has opened a 75,000-square-foot biomanufacturing facility in Northwest Houston. The facility will support the production of cell and gene therapies, vaccines, and other biologic products. It includes testing and cell-based assay work under GMP conditions. This is one of several expansions Avance has made in Houston this year.
As reported by Houston Business Journal, the building totals about 75,000 square feet and will be used to help companies with production testing for vaccines, biologics and cell and gene therapies. In a press release via PR Newswire, Avance described the site as a Potency and Cell Based Assay Center of Excellence that will offer custom potency assay development, qualification to ICH Q2(R2) and GMP compliant testing for both clinical and commercial programs.
What the center will do
The company says the center’s capabilities include fit for purpose potency assay development, functional cell based testing and regulated sample testing for modalities such as lipid nanoparticles, viral vectors and engineered cell therapies. “With the launch of this Center, we’ve unified a world-class team and expanded our capacity to deliver complex, custom assays for our growing client base,” Avance CEO Xuening Huang said in the release. PR Newswire reported the comments.
Avance’s local build out this year
Avance has expanded rapidly in Houston. The company launched a Next Generation Sequencing Center of Excellence in June to centralize regulatory ready sequencing, according to Avance Biosciences. Earlier this summer the firm posted a commissioning notice saying select GMP quality control services had shifted to the new site and that sample shipments should be redirected to the facility during business hours, as per Avance Biosciences.
Why it matters for Houston
The opening comes as Houston courts larger life sciences projects and industrial investment that could reshape the region’s real estate market. The Houston Chronicle recently reported on a proposed Eli Lilly biomanufacturing plant that would bring billions in investment. Local reporting and market data point to rising demand for specialized lab and manufacturing space, and developers and training programs are racing to fill roles for technicians and process operators needed to staff these facilities. The new Avance center is one of several local additions that industry trackers say illustrate a continuing push into lab and biomanufacturing space in Houston, as Houston Business Journal notes.
Avance listed a media contact in its announcement and said the center will support both clinical and commercial testing programs as the company continues to scale. The firm did not include immediate public estimates for head count or long term production throughput beyond what appears in its release.
